Book 3, Chapter 126: Head Instructor

When Yu Wan heard that Che Lie wanted to see Chen Chuan, she was worried. “Why would he want to see Chan’er?”

“It’s okay, Aunty. Head Instructor Che is Uncle’s colleague. Since he’s here, he’s our guest. I’ll go see him.” Chen Chuan smiled.

“I’ll go with Xiao Chuan,” Nian Fuli declared. He put on his cap, buttoned his shirt, and left with Chen Chuan.

Che Lie didn’t enter the residential area, but waited outside the alley. When Chen Chuan walked out with Nian Fuli, they saw a car parked outside. It was sandwiched between two armored cars in charge of protecting it.

Standing in front of the car was a man in his thirties. He wore the uniform of the Constabulary’s instructor. The man had thick eyebrows and a sharp gaze. He was quite handsome, but he gave off such an aggressive presence that it made him appear standoffish.

The moment he saw them, the man walked over. He extended his hand to Chen Chuan as if Nian Fuli did not exist and said, “You must be Officer Chen Chuan. I’m Che Lie, the head instructor of Yangzhi City’s Constabulary.”

Chen Chuan noticed the moment Che Lie walked over that the man was also a Third Limit martial artist.

That made sense. Based on what Wen Tong did last time, head instructors didn’t just have to train the constables, but were also in charge of protecting the important people in the Constabulary.

They might look like they didn’t have much power, but they were really important.

Chen Chuan wasn’t surprised by the fact that Che Lie knew who he was either. From the moment he walked out of the Resolution Department, his steps were tracked. Third Limit martial artists had to be registered. No matter where they went, the local security departments would be informed. This was a rule enforced everywhere in the world.

The Resolution Department had to have notified the higher-ups of Yangzhi City’s government and the Constabulary before Chen Chuan even returned to Yangzhi City.

Chen Chuan shook Che Lie’s hand. The moment their hands touched, he sensed a wave of refined force coming into him, but he remained calm and sent a wave right back.

When their refined forces clashed, Che Lie felt a tingling sensation travel up his forearm, as if his hand was about to be knocked back. Quickly, he tried to seize that refined force, only to find it disappear abruptly. Shock filled his system. When Chen Chuan let go, Che Lie calmly retracted his hand as well.

He then turned to Nian Fuli. “Brigade Commander Nian, may I have a word with Officer Chen in private?”

Nian Fuli didn’t move away. He looked at Chen Chuan.

“I’ll be okay, Uncle. I’ll just be talking to Head Instructor Che,” Chen Chuan reassured him.

“Okay. Have fun talking. I’ll be at the alley entrance. Call me if you need me,” Nian Fuli said and headed back. He then lit up a cigarette and started smoking.

Che Lie ignored Nian Fuli and turned back to Chen Chuan. “Speaking of which, I also graduated from the main campus. That makes you my junior. That’s quite flattering.”

“I see. You’re my senior from the main campus,” Chen Chuan remarked.

Che Lie observed him for a while. “You’re young but already quite accomplished. After I graduated, I needed another three years to reach the Third Limit, but you managed to do it half a year after joining the main campus. I haven’t seen many who are as talented as you are.”

Chen Chuan’s mind had become much sharper now, so he could sense that while Che Lie was rather polite to him and was trying to form rapport with him, he harbored some hostility and judgment behind that polite facade.

“You flatter me, Senior Che,” he just said.

“I know what you’ve done. You were right to have killed those idiots standing in the country’s way. You need to be brutal with them and show them no mercy,” Che Lie stated.

As Chen Chuan listened to him, he couldn’t help but remember the other special operations committee member he met with Lao Feng when he was summoned to serve the country. Were all of them this extreme?

“While Yangzhi City has gotten rid of those idiots, there are still a lot of targets threatening the Great Shun Republic, and they need to be taken out, like those armed forces outside the city,” Che Lie declared.

“Are you talking about the villagers?” Chen Chuan asked.

Che Lie’s gaze turned sharper. “Villagers? They’re no villagers. They’re not licensed to possess firearms, and they’re hiding resistance group members. They even let them set up bases in their villages. They’re against the government and must be wiped out!”

Chen Chuan said nothing to that.

It made Che Lie raise his eyebrows, and he stared at Chen Chuan before asking, “Are you sympathizing with those resistance group members? That’s not good.”

Chen Chuan met Che Lie’s eyes and asked, “Senior Che, you’re not from Yangzhi City, are you?”

When Che Lie met Chen Chuan’s bright and sharp gaze, he subconsciously leaned back, and his expression froze for a moment before he said gravely, “I took office in Yangzhi City this year. The moment I arrived, I discovered a lot of problems in the city. They’ve been building up over time, and they have worsened to a point where they need to be dealt with and corrected.”

“Senior Che, I grew up in Yangzhi City, and those villages and hamlets have been around since before I was born,” Chen Chuan shot back. “They’re not harmful to Yangzhi City. Instead, they often are victims.

“Last year, I killed robbers and gang members trying to rob and occupy a hamlet. Later on, the Constabulary found proof that those robbers and gang members had ties with the resistance group that took over the train. If these hamlets and villages are really the bases of the resistance group, why would they rob themselves?”

“You’re a capable young man, and I’ve heard of your deeds last year, but your information is outdated. The attack on the hamlet was just the resistance group having an internal fight among themselves,” Che Lie fired back.

“When the top brass sent me here, one of my tasks was to get rid of the resistance group, and I’m going to do it tomorrow.

“This is a great chance for you to show your skills. The top brass will see our hard work. Would you like to join me?”

“Sorry, Senior Che, but I intend to quietly enjoy my holiday and spend time with my family. This isn’t part of my responsibility, so forgive me, but I won’t be joining you,” Chen Chuan rejected the offer.

Che Lie stared at him for a moment before saying, “If that’s the case, enjoy your holiday. I won’t bother you any longer.”

He nodded and returned to his car.

The constables following him immediately opened the door for him. Before going inside, Che Lie stopped for a moment and turned around. “I’ll be leaving to kill the resistance group tomorrow. If you change your mind before that, you can come find me.”

Then, he entered the car, and the door shut with a slam. With the two armored patrol cars escorting him, he left.

Chen Chuan watched them go. While Che Lie was just a head instructor, he traveled around with an even flashier motorcade than Guan Yuming, who was the chief of the Constabulary.

When he walked back, Nian Fuli asked, “You’re done?”

Chen Chuan nodded, and Nian Fuli put out his cigarette before throwing it on the ground and stomping on it a few times. “Let’s go back, then.”

Yu Wan had been waiting for them at the door, and Nian Fuli gave her a look to ease her mind. “He’s okay.”

Then, he turned to Chen Chuan and asked, “What did that guy say to you, Xiao Chuan?”

Chen Chuan poured himself a glass of water before saying, “He asked me to join him in wiping out the hamlet, but I feel that his real goal was to tell me not to try to stop him.”

Yu Wan couldn’t understand it. “But what does the operation have to do with you?”

“A lot. Xiao Chuan is no longer an average person. He’s from the main campus and has a job at the Resolution Department’s headquarters. He’s an official law enforcer in Central City, and his words hold weight at the headquarters.

“I was wondering why I was suddenly told not to go, even though I was ordered to before. Che Lie even spoke to me politely. It’s because of you, Xiao Chuan,” Nian Fuli said as he removed his cap and tousled his short hair.

“Maybe,” Chen Chuan remarked.

The explanation Nian Fuli offered was just part of it. The real deciding factor behind why Che Lie had a change of mind was because Chen Chuan was a Third Limit martial artist and had deep connections with the Constabulary. Not helping him was not even the biggest problem; ruining his plans was. After all, that was far easier.

It seemed like Che Lie placed a lot of importance on this operation, which was why he had taken the time to meet Chen Chuan.

“Seriously, he kicked up such a fuss over this…” Yu Wan said with a sigh.

Nian Fuli ended the conversation with a wave of his hand. “Let’s eat.”

After dinner, Yu Wan took Nian Mo and Nian Lu out for a walk while Chen Chuan and Nian Fuli sat down to talk about what had happened. Shortly into their conversation, the phone rang.

Nian Fuli went over and answered the call. After listening to whatever the other person had to say, he huffed and put down the phone. “Xiao Wu called. He said that Che Lie hurried out with a squad just now.”

“Even though he said that he was only going to leave tomorrow?” Chen Chuan was surprised.

“He lied to you, then. Or he might be worried that something might go wrong. In the past, whenever we had an operation planned, we would sometimes change the timing in order to prevent any information leaks.”

Che Lie had moved out the moment he went back, which was probably because he was worried that things might change. Was it because Chen Chuan had implied that he didn’t approve of his actions during the conversation or because of something else?

But it wasn’t as if Chen Chuan could do anything about it with his current status. When he saw Nian Fuli calling his colleagues to ask for more information, Chen Chuan didn’t stay in the living room. He returned to his room.

He read a little, and when it was time, he took some calming medicine and practiced his breathing technique.

He could already replace sleep with his breathing technique, and it was quite useful for staying in top form. His breathing technique was also really useful for regulating his emotions and mind.

The night passed. At 5 a.m., the phone suddenly rang. Nian Fuli was already up at this point. He set aside the towel he was using to wipe his face and answered the phone. The words he heard stunned him for a moment, then his expression changed, and he exclaimed, “Say that again?!”

Chen Chuan heard Nian Fuli’s shout and hurried out of his room.

Nian Fuli put down the phone and said to Yu Wan and Chen Chuan, “Che Lie’s dead. He died outside a hamlet last night.”

Yu Wan was shocked. “The man who came to visit us yesterday? I thought you said he’s strong!”

“I don’t know the details, but this is a huge matter. I’m heading to the Constabulary now,” Nian Fuli said with a frown, grabbed the belt on the coat rack, and put his cap on in a hurry.

“Let me go with you, Uncle,” Chen Chuan said.

Nian Fuli hesitated for a moment before saying resolutely, “Alright. Follow me, Xiao Chuan. You’re strong, and Che Lie did come find you yesterday. I think the Constabulary will want to ask you some questions later, so we might as well go together.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep